Bodybuilding for the young ... at heart
‘Where do they go?'
Not many bodybuilders have stayed with the sport for 30 years as Patterson has; most of the over-60 competitors at the Emerald Cup took up the sport fairly recently. Patterson said rampant drug use could explain why so few bodybuilders remain involved with the sport as they age.
“You see young bodybuilding stars fade from view just as fast as they rise,” he said. “You ask yourself: Where do they go?”
Only one contestant among the elder competitors at the Emerald Cup, retired police inspector Kareem Cadogan, sounded defiant when asked about taking steroids to build muscle mass.
“The government shouldn’t tell us what to put in our bodies,” said Cadogan, who at 79 was the oldest competitor in the Emerald Cup. By his age, he said, he could take some health risks because winning was too important: “I don’t like to lose.” His more immediate concern was how to pose so as to de-emphasize the loose skin that he called his “pleats.”
Debbie Houck, 50, one of the judges at the Emerald Cup, is a former bodybuilder herself who trained competitors for 22 years. She explained that bodybuilders are judged on looks, created by months of training, diet, and practicing poses.
“You have to appreciate bodybuilding not so much as a sport, but as an art,” she said. “The finished product is like a molded piece of sculpture.” Along with size, Houck looks for leanness and symmetry along with skin tone.
With that in mind, Radke got a fresh haircut and was keeping a small spot of psoriasis under control. Like everyone else, he was covered in several thick coats of tanning cream.
Home application proves costly
The other contestants were shellacked a deep, reddish-brown mahogany, professionally sprayed on at a cost of $125. But Radke picked a dark oak color and applied it himself at home. When he climbed on stage, he looked splotchy. He finished third again, but said he planned to compete in a national championship this summer.
Steve Franklin, a 61-year-old fire chief from California, placed second in the 60-and-up category. “Getting second place is like kissing your sister!” he laughed. The category winner was Dick Eilertson, 68, formerly with the Army Corps of Engineers. Now selling Amway fitness products, he said he felt great and handed out energy drink samples.
In the age 70-and-up category, Cadogan, the retired police inspector, won first place. He flashed a toothy smile, but said he wouldn’t compete again.
“Dieting is no fun,” he said, adding that he missed chocolate and ice cream.
Patterson, the veteran, all-natural bodybuilder, won first in the over-50 category. He said he would get back to writing his fitness book titled, “There Are No Shortcuts.”
Taking it all in was Jeremy Baarsma, a new, 20-year-old competitor.
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Baarsma said his strategy was to “keep everything simple” by taking goat whey, glutamine and branched-chain amino acids – and no illegal drugs. As he stepped onto the stage, he was amazed by the sheer bulk of his competitors’ physiques, wondering if some of them had used steroids.
“They were huge — totally shredded,” he recalled afterward. Yet Baarsma placed first in his category. He was relieved to know he could win without taking drugs.
“As a Biology major, I just can’t,” he said. “I’ve got friends who have tried those drugs. I’ve seen what they can do. I use those older guys as inspiration.”
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